Subject: Odd bug / spider with long front legs Geographic location of the bug: Czech Republic, South Moravia, Brno Date: 12/19/2018 Time: 12:36 PM EDT Your letter to the bugman: This scary looking thing was crawling in my bathtub, and I have no idea what it is! How you want your letter signed: Really bugged about this

Pseudoscorpion

Dear Really bugged about this, We suspected correctly when we read your subject line that you encountered a harmless, predatory Pseudoscorpion, a group of Arachnids that are frequently encountered in homes.

Subject: Strange tiny insect with pincers Geographic location of the bug: Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Date: 01/27/2018 Time: 05:48 PM EDT Your letter to the bugman: I just found this insect on my wall inside of my apartment. Have never see anything like it before. It has 3 tiny legs on each side of the body plus the larger pincer on each side. Before killing it, the pincers were resting foreword, not pulled in like in the picture I took. Any thoughts or ideas would be great! Thank You so much. How you want your letter signed: My name is Lindsay… not sure what else to put there.

Pseudoscorpion

Dear Lindsay, This is a harmless, predatory Pseudoscorpion that will help keep your home free of small unwanted creatures. Pseudoscorpions seem to have adapted quite well to living with humans. That is a conclusion we have reached after receiving 100s of identification requests of Pseudoscorpions found in homes. We rarely, or possibly even never, receive images of Pseudoscorpions in natural environments. Furthermore, most of our sightings are from colder climates, with the vast majority occurring in Canada. Though you were unaware of its identity at the time of the killing, we hope in the future you will be more tolerant of Pseudoscorpions found in your home, so we are tagging this posting as Unnecessary Carnage.

Hi Daniel,

I really appreciate the speedy reply. Now that I know the insect is harmless I will definitely be tolerant of them, in the event I see another one. I actually hate killing anything, including insects ( I actually put stink bugs outside instead of killing them, lol)

Subject: What is this? Is it poisoness? Location: Found it in Ohio June 30, 2017 7:44 pm Found this on a pillow next to my 2 year old son with something attached to it’s leg. Is this thing dangerous and what is it? Signature: Alicia

Spined Oak Borer with Pseudoscorpion

Dear Alicia, This is a Longicorn or Longhorned Borer Beetle in the family Cerambycidae, and members of this family are not poisonous. The hitch-hiker is a Pseudoscorpion, and as a flightless creature, it is taking advantage of the flying beetle to move from location to location, an act known as phoresy. We found an image of Anelaphus pumilus on BugGuide that is also transporting a Pseudoscorpion and we have an image in our archive of a Spined Oak Borer, Elaphidion mucronatum, with a Pseudoscorpion. Your Longicorn appears to have spines on the tips of the wing covers and according to Eric Eaton, the Spined Oak Borer can be identified by a “pair of spines at the tip of each wing cover.” We believe your Longicorn is a Spined Oak Borer.

Subject: Bug identify please? Location: Minnesota May 5, 2017 3:52 pm I found this bug on my pillow and freaked out. Haven’t slept in my bed since. The antenna are long and curve more than the photo suggest. U can kind of follow the curves where it blurs. I live in Minnesota and it’s warming up. May to be exact. Signature: Sincerely cheri hennen

Pseudoscorpion

Dear Cheri, This is a harmless Pseudoscorpion. It poses no threat to you and it will eat other unwanted visitors in your home, like spider, bed bugs and small cockroaches.

Related posts:

Subject: Pseudoscorpion Location: Munising Mi March 10, 2017 3:54 pm Hi. I found a Pseudoscorpion on my wall today. I was freaking out because it looks like a mutant tick. But my questions are..Is it normal to have one in my house during the winter? I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Signature: NICOLE ROCHEFORT

Pseudoscorpion

Dear Nicole, We would be hard pressed to state what is the preferred habitat of Pseudoscorpions, because most of our reports are of indoor sightings. We can only deduce that Pseudoscorpions have adapted to cohabitation with humans in dwellings.